Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Nearly a week after President Obama stood before Congress and addressed the Nation at the 2015 State of the Union Address, a speech in which he urged Democrats and Republicans to join forces in order to reform America’s flawed criminal justice system, members from both sides of the political aisle came together on Capitol Hill to discuss the looming issues surrounding the topic of criminal justice reform.

On [January 28th, 2015], the Constitution Project hosted a bipartisan briefing, “Advancing Criminal Justice Reform in 2015,” featuring congressmen, activists and other experts dedicated to the cause. Moderated by TCP board member and former American Conservative Union chair, David Keene, the panel included Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.); Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio); Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.); Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.); prison reform activist and author of the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman; director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the American Conservative Union Foundation, Pat Nolan; former Obama administration advisor and political commentator, Van Jones; and Mark Holden, the general counsel and senior vice president of Koch Industries, Inc.